Topic: female hysteria

Strange TODAY Show Story Reminds Us That “Hysteria” Is Still A Thing

Strange TODAY Show Story Reminds Us That "Hysteria" Is Still A Thing

Yesterday on the TODAY Show, a group of 12 teenage girls from New York discussed the sudden, bizarre onset of a Tourette’s-esque disorder that’s resulted, for no clear reason, in all of them displaying tics, twitches, and uncontrollable outbursts. And while the epidemic itself sounds strange and interesting (there’s a RadioLab about a similar outbreak), it’s the clinical diagnosis by a doctor on the show that made me pause–mass hysteria. Really? With it’s gendered, pejorative, and non-scientific roots, that’s still a word that’s being used medically? More »

10 Movies and TV Shows That Taught Us How to Cry Like (Un)Real Women

10 Movies and TV Shows That Taught Us How to Cry Like (Un)Real Women

Female hysteria used to be considered a medical disorder. It also used to rationalize treating women like a lower, less intelligent race. Thank God that’s over, right? We may not get a diagnosis anymore, but we’re not sure the perception of women has necessarily taken such great strides. Just take a look at movies and TV shows: We’re still bawling, melting down, and burdening others with hysterical outbursts. Hardly empowering.

Don Draper’s outburst on last week’s episode of Mad Men got lots of attention: One teary scene led to an entire Internet meme, complete with a a new blog: Sad Don Draper. Everyone stopped in their tracks at the hilarity of a grown man crying on television, but the women sobbing in our gallery (and countless TV shows and movies) hardly get a wink. More »